It may seem strange to some people to imagine kids getting homework in second grade, but thanks to changes in teaching theories and the introduction of Common Core educational standards, younger and younger children have been getting reading, writing, social studies and math assignments to complete after school.
In light of this, a note from Texas second-grade teacher to the parents of her students was bound to create quite a stir.
Brandy Young of Godley Elementary School passed out a note to parents at Meet The Teacher Night. “After much research this summer, I am trying something new,” it read. “Homework will only consist of work that your student did not finish during the school day. There will be no formally assigned homework this year.”
“Research has been unable to prove that homework improves student performance,” the note continued. “Rather, I ask that you spend your evenings doing things that are proven to correlate with student success. Eat dinner as a family, read together, play outside, and get your child to bed early.”
Given the display of support on Facebook, where one student’s parent shared the note, where it got almost 59,000 shares, it’s not surprising that the story made national news.
There seems to be a growing groundswell of support for a no-homework policy for elementary school students. In fact, some of Young’s colleagues say they’re considering doing away with homework, too.
But some parents are concerned that students may not be getting the education they need without having homework to cement the lessons they learned during the school day.
“Spelling and vocabulary, math, everything. I think homework is definitely a good thing,” said another parent of a Godley Elementary student. “I don’t know what it’s going to be like in middle school but in elementary school I don’t think an hour and fifteen minutes is too much in the evening.”
What do you think? Is homework necessary or useful for second-graders or other elementary school students? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
What a breath of fresh air. When I was teaching years ago, I remember being required to give homework. I actually had to try to come up with something to give. What a waste of time. Fast forward 15 years and now I’m a parent struggling to balance home life and mountains of homework for my kids. Some is beneficial, in my opinion, and some….is not.
I would love to see more schools do away with homework for the reasons listed in this article!!! As a travel writer, we frequently travel and I find the kids learn SOO easily and retain the information while traveling. Hands on and correlating what we read before hand with what they actually see while exploring. SOO much better than traditional homework and there would be more time for family exploration if we did away with the busy work!!